Every day and every night are the same at university. As much as I find the course stimulating, it can also be challenging. I have found the best way of coping with stress is to go for long walks at night. These help me to relax and get some fresh air. But this day was different. As I approached the science block near our dorm room, I could see a large crowd had formed. I was met with faces of grave concern. Panic and shock overwhelmed me like I was in danger. My heart raced as I approached the commotion and saw a horrifying image of a lifeless body of Mark lying on the ground. There were burns on his face and fingers, but the thing that was the most difficult to see was the stab wounds on his chest. He did not deserve to die like this. Nobody does. Though Mark was not always the politest person, he was still kind to those who were close to him. And I was one of the chosen few. His face was burned so deeply that I could only recognise him from seeing his neck tattoo. The same tattoo that I would make fun of every now and then.
I had a mix of confusion and fear of my safety. His body was taken promptly for a postmortem examination. Two burly police officers ushered me to the side and took me to an investigation room at the station to ask questions. There was not much to say; Mark never shared much about his private life. We only talked about assignments and exams. Last night, we studied together like any other night, suddenly his phone rang, then he gathered some documents and pen drives before rushing out. He left me with a sense of fearfulness. I returned home after the interrogation. I couldn't control my emotions. My body had been shaking since I saw the terrible state of his body. I had a feeling that something was wrong, so I decided to start my own investigation to seek the truth and justice. I started my investigation by searching his part of the room. I found some torn letters, their contents were hidden but it held some clues, a visiting card with the name and contact information raised a question about who it was to Mark, a locked phone I guess will be the toughest part of my investigation, teddy bear with the tag seemingly from another university student and a half-burned diary which he may have tried to destroy.
I continued my investigation from the torn letters, I smelled a rare flower's fragrance, the contents of the letter revealed confusing conversation and threats against Mark. This letter directly discovered that Mark had been involved in something much darker and dangerous than I thought. The visiting card pointed towards a suspicious person that Mark had been following for six months. Unlocking the cord on the locked phone felt like an impossible task, but I refused to give up. I tried to recall memorable situations, numbers and dates, but I really could not think of anything at all. Then, it came to me. I had one last attempt and I thought this was worth a shot. Mark would always tell me about his 13th birthday and how much it meant to him. It was the last year his father was alive, and he took him to the park and they played together for the whole day. I am sure he would have honoured his father in such a way. Nervously, I tapped the number 170974 on the keypad. CLICK! It took many attempts, after many sleepless nights, but I finally opened it. What I came to learn, would change my life forever!
It contained a few videos of our university officials having a conversation about their crimes. I had no idea about the connection with that letter and the videos. Even the teddy bear held some secrets, it had a hidden USB drive. This USB drive contained corruption of university officials and the evidence of their crimes. Half burned diary contained someone else’s sorrowful story. It looked like an unknown person’s handwriting. I had made a strong start with my investigation, but still needed to put all the puzzle pieces together. I was thinking about how to continue my investigation. An incident happened which completely distracted my concentration from my investigation. A taxi driver who wore a shirt with the symbol of a wolf which is drawn in the torn letters. I doubted him because his actions were suspicious, so I followed him everywhere he went. I saw him secretly going to a house. The house belonged to Mark as I guessed. It is full of blood marks like a murder scene. The taxi driver searched for something, suddenly I made a ‘BANG’ door shut. Taxi driver alerted himself and he immediately disappeared. I decided that the taxi driver and Mark's murder had been connected. The next day I was in the canteen, taking a bite of an apple. Henry, who had been following me around the campus, finally found an opportunity to speak. He looked anxious and whispered, “Kelvin there is something you need to know about Mark. He is still alive.” I nearly choked on my apple. I was confused like how is that possible? Henry quickly explained with a fearful face, looking around the place again and again like viewing no one is eavesdropping. You see, Mark and the owner of the teddy bear whose name is Kim, they are best friends from middle school. Kim hates his own father who is our university head. You're looking for an owner of that burned diary that belongs to Mark’s sister who is Kim’s lover. She found out about the crimes of the university head and the diary has the sad truth that happened to Mark’s sister, sadly she is not alive anymore. After her death Mark’s parents died in an accident. Mark’s whole family and Kim’s lover were killed by Kim’s father. Mark and Kim came up with the plan to expose the corruption of the university officials, but things went terribly wrong.
My eyes widened with shock. Henry continued; Mark framed Kim’s death as his own. He made it look like he was the one who died and then led you to uncover the truth. Mark is seeking revenge. He is living a double life to expose the truth. You have the evidence; I have been gathering some evidence. We will have to work together to piece everything together and make sure the truth comes out.
The next few weeks were a blur of danger and discovery. Henry and I pooled our resources and continued to dig deeper into the conspiracy. We faced numerous obstacles: surveillance by university security, threats from unknown sources, and the constant fear of being discovered. As we pieced together the evidence, we uncovered how Kim died. Kim had been caught by his father’s men while trying to gather incriminating documents from the university’s archives. He was tortured and killed, his body burned to make identification difficult, and then dumped where Mark’s fake death would take place.
Our investigation culminated in a harrowing night when we decided to break into the university head’s office to retrieve final pieces of evidence. We barely escaped with our lives, chased by the very people we sought to expose. But our efforts paid off. With the evidence we had gathered, we went to the media and law enforcement. The corrupt officials were arrested, and the university head, faced with undeniable proof of his crimes, took his own life.
Mark emerged from hiding, his mission for justice accomplished. He began to rebuild his life, no longer burdened by his double existence. For Henry and me, the investigation was a transformative experience. It taught us the value of perseverance, the importance of seeking justice, and the heavy cost of uncovering the truth.
